This timelapse clip of an artist sculpting a Groot bust is kind of impressive really but one thing that seems to stand out is that Groot doesn’t seem like he would be quite as hard as anyone else largely because he has wide, broad features that are far easier to sculpt than many other characters. That’s kind of a misconception however since despite his very broad and expansive features the character does have a lot of detail to him, especially when you get away from the broad patch that is his face. Once you get into making his neck and then adding in all the details to make it seem as real as possible you can just imagine the time and effort it really takes to give the sculpture the kind of personality that was given to the CGI character.
Using the brush is an interesting but very simple technique since it produces the lines that are needed to give Groot’s skin the texture that it needs to look like real, living wood. The texture and the color have to be just right to make this character come out perfect, but looking around this guy’s shop it seems like he does this for a living or just a very interesting hobby. Whatever the case he’s very, very good at it, and as he goes about the business of making Groot seem more and more real by the second you can see each and every detail start to pop as the color is applied. The level of detail that this guy is able to give is just insane, especially since if you look at the movie Groot and then look at this bust you can’t see much difference besides the fact that one moves and the other doesn’t.
One has to imagine that this guy would charge an arm and a leg for a sculpture like this if he was in the habit of selling them. Collectors and even those that are just appreciative of impressive art pieces would no doubt love to have this in their collections just to say that they’ve got something this awesome. In fact it might even inspire some people to go out and start sculpting…only to realize that it’s not as easy as it looks unless you’ve been doing it for years and years or even months and months. Sculpting is in a way kind of like writing, only much more hands on really. You can get into it fairly easily, but gaining any proficiency in it is going to take time, practice, and a whole lot of patience. If you think that you can possibly make something like Groot in just a few months by looking at a picture and then making adjustments you’re going to be in for a rude awakening.
Much like a story a sculpture has to be given the time to develop, to breathe, and in some cases to tell the artist just what needs to be done to make it complete. It sounds odd for certain, but art has to speak to the artist in order to be completed sometimes.
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